2. Destroy

Deep claw marks were streaking across it's neck making Kala feel uneasy. She turned away if only to not think about the demonic creature practically killing itself in front of her. A few more slashing sounds and pained squeals late they stopped. She turned back to see a pile of what looked like pencil shavings on the floor. She didn't have time to think about what they were, something was coming! Another shadow was approaching from the street. She scuttled back behind the trash cans for cover.

“Oh Kala, you never change, do you?” a voice echoed around the corner, “Always covering yourself in trash!”

A face emerged into the alley. A face that Kala knew better than she knew her own.

“C-Carter? What are you doing here?” She shot up from hiding, her face shadowed in anger.

He grinned, a grin that made her think eerily of a serpent, “What, aren't you happy to see your baby brother?” His voice was dripping with venom as he glared at her down the narrow alleyway.

“I thought you were dead!” She screamed at him, her eyes tearing over, “We all did. You disappear for a year and expect that nothing has changed. Where were you? Why did you leave us...” her words drifted off, her brain too overcome with a cocktail of emotions to remember how to form words.

“That's none of your business!” He snapped, eyes narrowing, “And I don't expect that nothing has changed. In fact, everything has changed! The tables have turned, big sister. And this time it's not in your favour!”

Her eyes dropped to his hand. Something shone like dull metal in the flickering street light. Her throat went dry. A knife? No, it was a...

“That's right, a pen” he sneered, “but not just a pen. This is my chance! My chance to finally beat you. All my life I you have always been the better one. Always been the perfect model child who I could only dream of aspiring to. I used to look up to you, but now you just disgust me!” He spat at her, leering at her as he held up his pen and started to draw something on the crumbling brick wall, “That's why they approached me, you see. They knew a righteous little goody two shoe like you would never even consider dark magic!”

Kala spluttered, “Dark magic? You can't be serious! What the hell are you talking about?”

He glared at her, all remaining traces of the playful little boy who followed her everywhere she went and never had the courage to stand up for himself had now seemingly vavished from his features.

“That's right! Dark... magic!” He yelled as he lifted his pen. In the middle of the drawing he scrawled one word, 'Alive'

The scratchy pen lines seemed to sort of ripple and peeled from the wall to form... a dragon.

A memory surfaced from the back of her mind. A memory from at least ten, if not fifteen years ago. The kids in Carter's daycare had been bullying him. Kala came into his to find him drawing a dragon on his bedroom wall. He crawled across to her and whispered, “I'm okay, really. I'll just get my dragon to eat them all!” He giggled and ran around the room imitating a dragon. Much like the one that was currently advancing on her. “You're wrong,” she whispered, her voice developing an edge, “Not everything has changed. You're still the same Carter you have always been, you just need to find yourself again.”

She closed her eyes and ran. Straight toward the dragon. Carter looked at her in confusion. “Kala, what are you...”

At that moment she hit the dragon. It barrelled down the alley and caught him of guard. He fell, the air knocked from his lungs and the pen thrown from his hand. His eyes widened and he clawed at the dragon in an attempt to get it off himself.

“No! Kala, no!” he screamd thrashing and wrything hopelessly under the dead weight of an unconscious dragon.

She looked away, held the pen in the air and wrote, 'Destroy”

The pen immedietly burst into flames. The dragon and pile of pencil shaving vanished and the glass lifted from Carters eyes. He looked broke down crying.

“K-Kala, I'm so sorry!” he sniffed and looked up at her, “It was the pen, I swear! It was so powerful, I couldn't stop myself! I'm so, so sorry...”

She bent down to him and kissesd his forehead.

“I know. It's okay, I know.” she helped him to stand up and supported his dragon-crushed leg, “But now it's time to finally bring you home.”

He nodded and burried his head in her shoulder, limping along the alleyway as they left behind them a wake of fire.